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You've got to give Ryan Annesley some credit as a recruiter for the Dinos hockey team.

He may have helped bring the guy who might help the club win its first CIS championship.

Annesley and new Dino Jared Aulin had always joked around about Aulin going to school and joining his former Kamloops Blazers teammate with the U of C Dinos.

But the friendly banter between the two buddies never really got serious or amounted to anything since both thought Aulin, a former NHLer with the L. A. Kings, had used up his five years of eligibility as a pro.

But this summer, Annesley decided to talk to head coach Scott Atkinson about the matter and things just worked out, allowing Aulin, a Calgarian, to join the team for this season.

"We were always under the assumption his eligibility had ran out," said Annesley, who begins his final year as a Dino.

"It was fun to talk about, but we never knew it would come to reality. But I mentioned it to our coach (Scott Atkinson) and he was pretty shocked because Aulin's a big name around here. He started looking into it and somehow found a loophole."

The loophole, Aulin playing a year of pro as an under-age player, means he and Annesley will be wreaking havoc on the Dinos opposition like they did with the Kamloops Blazers in 2000-01.

"We were best friends and linemates in Kamloops ... and to be able to play again with a guy like that, he's one of the top calibre players," said Annesley, who led the Dinos in scoring last season with 38 points in 33 games.

Naturally, Atkinson won't mess with a good thing and plans on playing Aulin alongside Annesley and former Calgary Hitmen Brett O'Malley.

Reid Jorgensen, another former Blazer, will join the Dinos after being released by the Boston Bruins. Jorgensen had 68 points in 61 games last season with Kamloops.

The Dinos are in Saskatoon this weekend for the Huskie Hockey Classic tournament.